Ironing board



Fb. H, 1936.

C. A. RICH IRONING BOARD Filed Jan. 8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb M1, 1935. Q RICH 2,@3@,537

IRONING BOARD Filed Jan. 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ICE.

Application January s, was; sen-at no at 6 Claims.

This invention relates to an ironing board of the collapsible type, and constitutes an improvement over the device disclosed in the patent of H; J. Gilbert No. 1 ,644,672;

' An object of theinvention is to provide an ironingboard ofthe character referred to which is extremely simple, inexpensive; and veryprac-ti'ca-li Another object 01- the invention is to provide an ironing board with a: collapsible leg and brace in structure which will told completely upon movement of the front leg to a position of lengthwise abutment upon the under face of the table member, the various movable partsassuming positions substantially flat against the table member when lo folded.

A further objectis to provide a leg and brace construction forironing boards; wherein are eliminated the usual long and undesirable tension rods which extend normaliy from the front leg 29 to the rearlegs, at substantially the knee-levelioi the user and to employ short" and sturdy struts or compression members in lieu of; such long rods.

The foregoing and other objects are attained 25 by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying: drawings which? Fig: l is; a side view of" the improved ironing board, with the: leg: and brace structure in the extended or operative position.

Fig. 2 -is a plan viewofthe Fig; 1 device shown in the collapsed condition.

Fig. 3; is a; perspective view showing the leg and, brace structure in a partly-collapsed condition, the. table member being omitted;

35 In the manufacturing of ironing board's of' col lapsible type, it has been common practice to rely upon the action of-tensi'on: rods connecting the front leg: with the rear; legs, for imparting the necessary rigidity for precluding wobbling 40 of the device when in use; Theconstructifon in most, of; the known devices. was. such, that, the tension rodswere essential parts; oi the. combination, without.,.which the. entire structurewould 5 collapse. In other prior constructions, the; ten:- sion rods. could. be. omitted, with the result how.- ever; that, thelironing; board would lose; the; characteristic of-lrigidity. whichlwas necessaryto practidal: use; of device; The; present; invention 50' contemplates; the. provisiom oh means in; association: witha table member; for supporting said table member rigidly ini the'absence of the customany tension rods, with the result that the devicemay beconstructed -witna; minimum-of parts 55 which will moveto a collapsed position easily and completely without interference with other parts such as the long tension rods.

The present devicecompriscsa table member 5 of the usual" shape, which table member has a front end 5;, a. rear end- T and a bottom or'under- 5 face 8; The front endpreferably is tapered, as is customary. At a location near the rear end 1* is fixed; by the use of any suitable fastening devices such as rivets or bolts 8, a transverse strip or bracket member "I which has ears or 10 lugs F2- and [3 depending irom the opposite ends thereof. The lugs are perforated to receive suitable pivots l3. Each h1gor ear H has pivoted thereto a: pairof' rear-leg members 14* and a. pair affront leg members l5, the front leg: members is abutting the inner: facesof the ears or lugs while the rear leg-members abut the outer faces'thereof. The rearl'egs may be connected by eithera rigid I or an adjustable cross-piece or legspacer I6 which willhereinafter: be referredto as; a. rear Tee spacer or strain bar; In the present embodiment, the; strain bar is. constituted of a single length ofwoodor metal properly proportioned to hold the rear-legs at a desired angle relative to one another; The memberglt may be nailed,

screwed; orotherwise Iastened in place, as indicated" at Fl.

j The members l-iwhiehconstitutes the front leg may converge; if desired", so as to meet at a fastening-point f8; thereby to form substantially a.

single front leg: Iris; of course, evident that the lower ends" of" the front; leg members |-5=' maybe spaced apart; if desired; so as to provide a pair of front legs" spaced; apart andm'ovable in unisonabout the pivotal" mountings 1'3; The rear legs also adapted to pivot about the mountlugs t3; so as to-move mm: folded relationship with the irontleg structure against the bottom or under iaceottlie table portion 5; 7 As-i'smostclearlyillustrated'in Figs; 2and3', 40 the-front legpieces 15 support; intermediate their upper. and lowenends;,.the opposite ends of a. 111 crumbaror-rod IS; this-rod beinglocated'preiera-blvclosertoz the pivots f3 than to the fastening pin: or rivet: If;

Unlike other devices of the general character above described", the fulcrum. rod bar has. 1111'- crumed thereon: a single swinging member 20 which is. purposely constructed" of resilient mavterm]; so as'to' con'stitute; a; bow-piece adaptedito be bent orbowed by the user in; setting up the ironingr-boardi As the-how-piece isswungabout the fulcrum ID; the rear: end' It thereof approaches: and. seats upon the strain bar l6',,preferably' in a notch lrthereoi; while the front end 56 23 fails to assume a position behind a. stop or abutment 24 unless the bow-piece is sprung or bowed upwardly by the operator to dispose said end 23 in contacting relationship with the under face of the table at a location behind the stop or abutment 24. The stop 24 may be in the form of a block of wood or other suitable material.

To insure proper placement of the rear end 2| of the bow-piece upon the strain .bar l6, or into the notches 22 thereof, there are provided the struts or compression members 24 and 25 which converge substantially at a point 26 where a suitable bracket 21 is provided for the purpose of definitely locating the convergent portion relative to the bow-piece 20. The bracket 21 may be nailed, screwed, or otherwise suitably fixed upon the bottom face of the bow-piece as indicated at 28. It is, of course, possible to, simply support 1 the portion 26 in a transverse bore that may be formed in the bow-piece at a location corresponding substantially to the location assigned to the bracket 21. v

The widely separated rear ends 29 and 30 of the compression members are pivotally supported for movement relative to the rear legs and to the strain bar l6, so that movement of the rear legs toward the front legs results in swinging the bowpiece 20 about its fulcrum l9 toward a position in which the bow-piece approaches the plane of the front leg members I5. Conversely, when the rear legs are moved to recede from the front legs, the bow-piece 20 will swing to a position to which the end 2| contacts the strain bar I6. As stated above, the end 2'3 of the resilient bow-piece must be manually bowed or sprung into position behind the block 24 after the opposite end 2| contacts the strain bar l6. 1 While the provision of a notch such as 22 enhances the rigidity of the structure when disposed in the extended or operative position, said notch may nevertheless be omitted if desired. It will of course be understood that omission of the notch will require either a change: in the length of the bow-piece, or a re-location of the members I6 .or 9, to preserve the bowing function of the bow-piece 2|].

By pivoting the spaced rear ends of the struts or compression members 24 and 25 at or near the adjacent rear legs at points such as 3| and 32, there is eliminated any tendency of the re-ar legs to twist relatively, especially when a seat or notch 22 is provided for reception of the bow-piece end 2|. It will be observed that the struts or compression members 24 and 25 may be made short and sturdy, thereby to enhance the rigidity of the structure. As is. evident, the struts or compression members are considerably shorter than the distance between the forward end of the front leg and the plane of the rear legs. By reason of this construction there is eliminated entirely the need of long tension rods such as have been necjessary for imparting. the desired rigidity to other types of ironing board struct res. When all of the leg members" |4' '|4 and |5 5 are made of strips having, a uniform width as shown, all of said members and alsothe' bowpiece 20, assume positions 'subst'antially flat against the bottom. of thetable member when thedeviceis folded or collapsed for storing. Furthermore, there are no 16 1s tension rods to spring out of place or become'bentduring careless handling of thede'vicaand the folding operation is facilitated by thev absence of such tension rods. The leg structure cannot collapseaccidentally during use because the bowed condition of the bow-piece securely mai ains the ends 2| and23 thereof in forceful contacting relationship with the strain bar Hi and the stop or abutment 24, respectively.

It is to be observed that the entire device is constructed of but ten major parts, each of which is simple and capable of rapid production with the use of ordinary machinery. The present device therefore, may be offered for sale at a price considerably lower than that of other somewhat similar devices of the rigid or tensioned type.

What is claimed is:

1. A collapsible ironing board comprising in combination: a table member having front and rear ends and an under surface, a front leg structure comprising a pair of members pivoted relative to the table member adjacent to the rear end thereof, and apair of spaced rear legs also pivoted relative to the table member adjacent to the rear end thereof, a transverse strain bar connecting the rear legs at a distance from the pivotal mountings thereof, a fulcrum rod supported by the front leg structure at a location remote from the pivotal mountings of the front legs, a resilient bow-piece swingingly supported upon the fulcrum rod, said bow-piece having a front end and a rear end, short and sturdy compression members cooperating to guide the rear end of the bow-piece onto the strain bar, and an abutment on the under surface of the table member, said abutment being located out of registration with the front end of the bow-piece except upon bending the boW-piece.

2. A collapsible ironing board comprising in combination: a table member having front and rear ends and an under surface, an abutment on said under surface near the front end of said table member, a. front leg structure pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a pair of spaced rear legs also pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a transverse strain bar connecting the rear legs at a distance from the pivotal mountings thereof, a fulcrum rod supported by the front leg structure at a location remote from the pivotal mountings of said front leg structure, a resilient bow-piece swingingly supported intermediate its ends, upon the fulcrum rod, said howpiece having a free front end and a free rear end, short and sturdy compression members cooperating to guide and maintain the rear end of the bow-piece against the strain bar, said bow-piece having an effective length greater than the maximum distance from thestrain bar to the abutment on the under surface of the table member, thereby to require bending of the bow-piece to seat it behind said abutment.

3. A collapsible ironing board comprising in combination: a table member having front and rear ends and an under surface, an abutment on said under surface near the front end of said table member, a front leg structure pivoting. relative to the table member near the ,rear ,end thereof, a pair of spaced rear legs also pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a transverse strain bar connecting the rear legs at a distance from the pivotal mountings thereof, said strain bar including a seat, a. fulcrum rod supported by the front leg structure at a location remote from the pivotal mountings of said front leg structure, a resilient bow-piece swingingly supported intermediate its ends upon the fulcrum rod, said bow-piece having'afree front end and a free rear end, short compression m s e at netqsu de d mam ainthe rear end of the bow-piece against the seat of the strain bar, said bow-piece having an effective length greater than the maximum distance from the strain bar seat to the abutment on the under surface of the table member, thereby to require bending of the bow-piece in order to seat it behind said abutment and maintain the table member fixed relative to the rear legs.

4. A collapsible ironing board comprising in combination: a table member having a front and rear end and an under surface, an abutment on said under surface near the front end of said table member, a front leg structure pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a pair of spaced rear legs also pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a transverse strain bar connecting the rear legs at a distance from the pivotal mountings thereof, a fulcrum rod supported by the front leg structure at a location remote from the pivotal mountings of said front leg structure, a resilient bow-piece swingingly supported intermediate its ends, upon the fulcrum rod, said bowpiece having a free front end and a free rear end, a V shaped compression member having its apex pivoted upon the bow-piece, means for mounting the divergent ends of the V shaped compression member pivotally relative to the rear legs, thereby to provide for lateral bracing of the bow-piece, said bow-piece having an effective length greater than the maximum distance from the strain bar to the abutment on the under-surface of the table member, so as to require bending of the bow-piece to seat it behind said abutment.

5. A collapsible ironing board comprising in combination: a table member having front and rear ends and an under surface, an abutment on said under surface near the front end of said table member, a front leg pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a pair of spaced rear legs also pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a transverse strain bar having a notch intermediate its ends and serving to connect the rear legs and space them apart, a fulcrum means supported by the front legs structure at a location remote from the pivotal mountings of said front leg structure, a resilient bow-piece swingingly supported intermediate its ends upon the fulcrum means, said bow-piece having a free front and a free rear end, a compression member comprising a rod bent into V shape so as to provide two divergent legs and an intermediate connecting portion, means for pivoting said connecting portion upon the bow-piece, means for pivoting the ends of the said divergent legs upon the rear legs of the table member, said V shaped compression member thereby serving to guide the rear end of the bow-piece into the notch of the strain bar and to furnish a truss between the bow-piece and the rear legs of the table member, said bowpiece having an effective length greater than the maximum distance from the notch of the strain bar to the abutment on the under surface of the table member, thereby to require bending of the bow-piece in order to seat it behind said abutment.

6. A collapsible ironing board comprising in combination: a table member having front and rear ends and an under surface, an abutment on said under surface near the front end of said table member, a front leg structure pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a pair of spaced rear legs also pivoted relative to the table member near the rear end thereof, a transverse strain bar connecting the rear legs, a resilient bow-piece adapted to be flexed and curved between the strain bar and the abutment on the under surface of the table member, a bow-piece fulcrum on the front leg structure to provide for rotation of the bow-piece in a plane which meets the table member at right angles, and means in the form of a strut having a hinge connection with the bow-piece and with one of the rear legs, and meeting both the bowpiece and said one rear leg at acute angles.

CHESTER A. RICH. 

